Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Blood Diamonds

I watched Blood Diamond with Leonardo DiCaprio last night and learned a lot about the issue of conflict diamonds and how they are used to fund civil war in Africa.

I want to encourage all of you who are buying diamond rings to ask the people you are buying them from if the diamonds they are selling you are certified "conflict-free." The Kimberly Process was put in place in 2003 and it requires governments to certify that shipments of rough diamonds are free from blood diamonds. Apparently it is not working totally and diamonds are still being sold that have not been certified.

Here are some more links to get more information: Global Witness, Democracy Now.

DJ-RJ